"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippines 4:8

Tag: Deity

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

During times in our Christian walk, our trust in the Lord may be tested. He tests our faith in Him and there is always a purpose in the testing: to strengthen us, grow us, refine us, sanctify us, and make us more like Him.

Romans 5:1-6
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

1 Peter 1:3-9
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see himnot, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Perhaps when we go through a difficult season we do not fully see the purpose behind the difficulty we experience. But there’s absolutely no difficulty in the life of a child of God that isn’t for his or her good and for God’s purposes.

Romans 8:28“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

He promises that all things work together for the good of those who love God! Thankfully, it doesn’t say that only some things work together for the good to them that love God, but all things! How incredible is this divine truth, that as His children, we can be rest assured that no trouble we face in this world is outside the hand of God or outside His good purpose for us. Our Lord knew that if it said in His Word in Romans 8 that only some things work together for good to them that love God, then it would be easier for us to doubt difficult circumstances we walk through, and our faith in God would dwindle during these hard seasons because we wouldn’t have a solid rock to cleave to. But praise be to God, Christ is our Solid Rock amidst any storm a believer must face in this dark world. He knows every difficulty, and He will walk us through every difficult storm. He calms every storm.

Mark 4:39
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

If it wasn’t for God and His amazing promises to work all things out for our good, we would drift about with every wind, unsure if our lives are truly in the hands of the God who saved us and gave Himself for us. We would wonder if our lives, our safety, our growth, our happiness is all dependent on whatever happens to us at random whim – that our lives could be destroyed and in the hands of the darkness, wickedness and uncertainty of this world. In other words, that our lives are really in the hands of the god of this world, the devil. This is not so! He promises that every single little thing will indeed work together for good to them that love God! Praise be to God.

What an incredible, beautiful God, abundant in love and faithfulness.

There is a false idea amongst unbelievers who deny God (and even some professed Christian sects) – that our lives as Christians are not completely in the hands of God. This, at the very root, is an antichrist belief system and has no place in the heart of any true believer – this thought that the ‘universe’ guides our life, attributing sovereignty to created things. This new age spirituality is anti-biblical and rips attributing power and glory to the Creator of all things. God is the one who is in control and in His child’s life, nothing is happenstance. This gives us so much comfort in this world and propels us to be fearless servants of the Most High God. It frees us to serve him willingly, lovingly, freely, and relentlessly, knowing that He loves us, is with us, desires the very best for us, knows what we need and will provide it, and who is watching over us and protecting us. This understanding calms our hearts knowing that if anything bad does happen to us, He’s still protecting us.

It’s imperative to understand that if you belong to God, there is nothing in this world that can destroy you because you are a child of God and your soul is safe with Him. However, if you are an unbeliever and do not belong to Him, your life is at the hands of this dark world.

Matthew 10:28
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

This truth gives us the strength to have peace and joy when circumstances seem grim, because it is the Almighty God who is caring for us and we’re no longer under the dominion of the evil one, but we are now children of God. And as a good Father, He will care for us all of our days.

Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

We might go through seasons of difficulty on this earth, and we may be tested, but we will never lose the ultimate treasure – eternal life in God’s presence forever once we are done in this earth. Not a single thing can take us away from the safety of His hands.

John 10:28
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

He wants us to trust Him more fully day by day as we walk with Him and grow in Him, and sometimes He will allow us to go through difficulties so that He will show Himself faithful through it and thus we trust Him all the more.

Lamentations 3:22-25“It is of the Lord‘s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

So trust God knowing that if you belong to Him and have trusted in Christ the Son of God for salvation, saving you from your sins and giving you eternal life, He will care for you all of your days as you navigate life in this temporary world.

Matthew 10:29
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”

If He’s given you salvation only available through the death of His son, won’t He not give you everything else?!

Romans 8:32
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

One of the astounding beauties of God is that He knows every need and concern we have, and He cares, and He will provide according to the riches of His kindness and His endless wisdom. He will work everything out for our good, that’s His promise.

Philippians 4“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I am so blessed to be given such a treasured gift from God – a faithful godly man who trusts God and loves God, and is a fearless servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. This man trusts His Lord through every season, loves Him so passionately and is obedient to Him above all else and in every circumstance that arises. He encourages me everyday in his godliness and Christlikeness and I look up to him more than anyone on this earth. He exudes Christ more than anyone I have ever met. He is a true spiritual leader and so Christlike in all of his ways. God has blessed me abundantly to overflowing, my cup runneth over (Psalm 23:5)!

Written by Tanya

[Part 1] There’s some confusion, well actually a lot regarding the subject of Jesus Christ’s deity and rightly so, without the mention of names there’s cults and false doctrine being taught and it’s our responsibility as Christian’s to study the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) to see if these things be true. Let’s not forget our noble brethren of Berea.

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

The question remains did Jesus plainly say “I am God”? Bare along as this is not easily explainable. I’ll reference scriptures which you can study for yourselves. As with anything that pertains to God’s word I would highly advise to look in the Bible for yourself and come to a conclusion on your own. We all will stand before God and will have to give an account, no one else will be able to speak for you before God.

The four Gospels

The gospel according to John targets the deity of Jesus Christ while the other 3 gospels focus upon the genealogy of Jesus, and fulfillment of OT prophecies written to a Jewish audience (Matthew), testimonies and miracles, written for a Gentile audience (Mark) and fact finding and Jesus as the great physician or healer written by the beloved physician (Luke). We all are familiar with the opening verse in the gospel according to John.

John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”

Jesus Christ is the Word of God (one of His many names) reading the verse above we see that “the Word” (Jesus Christ) has always existed. God (the Father) is not a created God meaning He was once created and had a starting period, no! God is the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end, therefore, God’s Word (Jesus) has always existed with the Father.

Another question is was Jesus begotten? Yes, He’s the only begotten Son of God. The word begotten is not speaking of the Lord Jesus being created as some may try to argue, nothing of the sort, when speaking of the eternal Son of God the word begotten speaks of His position. He’s above all and comes before all having the preeminence (John 1:18, John 3:31, Colossians 1:17-18, Hebrews 1:1-10, Psalms 45:6-7).

The words of the Lord in John chapter 8:58 could not be clearer: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” Note that it proves conclusively that our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son. Repeatedly in this chapter He has been speaking of God as “My Father.” Now this climactic statement of the chapter shows that this is eternally so. If there was a time when He came into being, He would have said, “Before Abraham was, I was.” The verbs translated “was” and “am” are not the same, and they show that the meaning of the statement is “Before Abraham came to be, I exist.” His use of “I am,” which would make the statement ungrammatical under normal usage, shows that He never came into being. Moreover, His use of “I am” immediately reminds us that this is what God called Himself when speaking to Moses at the burning bush (Exo 3:14). It is highly expressive of His eternity and His deity. – McAllister, David T&T

Begotten

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

Notice God said “Let there be light” Jesus Christ is also known as the light of the world. He came unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11).

John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Jesus Christ has many names and titles in which He goes by some of the more recognizable ones are The Son of God, Son of man, The only begotten Son of the Father, Emmanuel “God with us”, Lord etc… But there are scriptures in the Old Testament which also names our Lord Jesus. Here’s an Old Testament scripture speaking about Jesus and His names.

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Notice the above verse is talking about Jesus “a child is born…a son is given” as we continue it states of Him being “The everlasting Father”. This speaks of the deity of Jesus, He’s not just a prophet as some would claim, Jesus shares the same nature as the Father. The Godhead consists of God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Holy Ghost. This explains verses like (John 5:19, John 7:16–17 ). And with this piece of scripture below showing all three in one place at the same time.

Matthew 3:16-17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

After reading the above portion there’s no denying God has three distinct persons (Father, Son, Holy Ghost) and all three consist of the Godhead and together they are one God.

The writer of the book of Hebrews makes a reference from one of the Psalms speaking of the Lord Jesus and His deity. While reading bear in mind that this is God the Father speaking to the Son of God. The verses say and I quote “But unto the Son [he saith], Thy, throne, of God, is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8 – 1:9, Psalms 45:6).

Thanks for reading I pray that this helped you in understanding more about who God is. In [part 2] I’ll further show whom Jesus is helping you to examine for yourselves and draw your own conclusions as to the question, is Jesus Christ really God?